On a professional golf course, when a member of the golf course staff taking care of the grounds is to cut holes in the greens, he or she must make sure that the Rules of Golf by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) are observed. The requirements state that the hole must be 4.25 inches (108mm) wide and at least 4 inches (101.6mm) deep. Also wherever possible, the hole-liner must be sunk at least one inch (25mm) below the putting green surface. If a plastic cuff/rim is used, it is considered to be part of the hole liner (it too must be sunk at least one inch (25mm) below the putting green surface, unless the nature of the soil makes it impracticable to do so).

In accord with history, it is believed that the standard hole size was created at the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club in Scotland in 1829 when they invented the first known hole cutter that produced a 4.25 inch hole. The R&A adopted that standard width in 1891. The USGA followed suit several years later (1894). Today, since golf is a form of outdoor recreation, strong golf course designers not only look at where holes are placed they also note natural landscaping and understand the aesthetic cohesion of vegetation, water bodies, paths, grasses, stonework, and woodwork, among other elements.

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